Botante 2010

Come May 13, 2013 I have to be at my voting precinct by 8 AM to avoid the long queue, heat of the sun and to accompany my youngest daughter as a first time voter. One of the legacies of my Dad passed on to us was to exercise our right to vote.

The choices for me are as follows:
Member, House Of Representatives – First District
Echiverri, Enrico (Lp) (Liberal Party)
Guanzon, Bobby (Independent)
Malapitan, Along (Una) (United Nationalist Alliance)

In one of their interviews at DZMM last February 2013, Congressman Malapitan a 3 timed lawmaker in congress boasts of his accomplishments in education (National Science high School) ,health ( Dr Rodriquez Hospital as a tertiary hospital) and establishment of the 4 branches of the trial court.

On he other hand, Councilor RJ Echiverri, has the advantage of being dynamic and energetic because of his age. He is the youngest Liga ng mga Barangay president. His advocacies include violence against women, disaster risk management, alternative learning, and values formation.

It’s been 3 years after the last elections; my request in my blog then was to have a clean Monumento area, free from dirt and sidewalk vendors. It is still the same, the Grand Central area is still in chaos between 6 to 8 pm. So many people are at this area as they alight the LRT trains. Garbage, trash , sidewalk vendors are all over the place,

To the next mayor, can you please command the barangay captains of these areas, to make it a clean and better place?

May I also remind all candidates that a lot of people are still asleep in the mornings due to the work schedule at night e.g call center agents, nurses and those working in BPO’s. Please your loud campaigns jingles are not effective. They are a lot of times, a nuisance. Sabi nga “Serbisyo Hindi Perwisyo”.

I have been a voter in Caloocan City for the past 25 years. I am at the voting precinct at 7 am, to avoid the rush and the heat of the sun since voting time is summer time. On May 2010 I will vote with 2 of my kids as first time voters. I must admit we have different choices in the presidentiable race; I let them speak their own mind.

I always vote with what my heart and conscience tell me. I do look at their credentials and track record. For sure promises are made to be broken. When you are already at the position, a lot of things have to be taken into consideration when decision time comes.

Here in the local elections in Caloocan City, the Asistio family has always been candidates for mayor. The incumbent mayor Recom Echiverri has one more term to go, before maybe he bequeaths the position to his son RJ Echiverri who is at present a councilor and president of the Natonal Liga ng mga Barangay.

Baby Asistio, the former congressman of District 2 for 12 years is challenging Mayor Recom Echiverri. He claimed that high taxes in Caloocan City drove businesses away and that nothing spectacular in terms of infrastructure has happened. We have been paying property taxes in Caloocan and I must admit it has tripled during the time of the incumbent mayor. I live near the Monumento area; nothing has really changed except that there are no more sidewalk vendors in front of MCU hospital. There is the construction of the LRT Loop but that is not the project of the local government. Garbage is collected Monday, Wednesday and Friday in our area Morning Breeze Subdivision and this is the barangay of the incumbent mayor, I don’t know what is the situation in other areas of the city.

I hope the next mayor would really make Caloocan City a clean place specially the Monumento area. Can you not drive the sidewalk vendors away near the LRT station? Really the Grand Central area is in chaos between 6 to 8 pm. So many people are at this area as they alight the LRT trains.

A basic need that I want our next mayor to fulfill is a clean and orderly Monumento area, which is the showcase of Caloocan City. Please candidates don’t hold your “miting de avance “ in the place. That can cause monstrous traffic!

It took me two hours to cast my vote, its worth the wait. The “PCOS machine count” gave me a good feeling that I have done something for my country today. People were so enthusiastic to vote. It was orderly inside the classroom. I felt the election officers and teachers were at ease. Only 10 voters were allowed inside the classroom. Its so easy to fill up the ballot, the design was easy to read.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) of the Sacred Heart Parish was a big help in the conduct of the elections. Kudos to their organizers and officials!

I will be a voter in May 2010, including my two children aged 18 and 19 y/o. They will be first time voters and this is significant since it is a presidential election and at the same time if it will push through, the first national automated election.

One of the legacies my Dad left us was the importance of voting. He would be at the election precinct by 6:30 AM to cast his vote. Months before election time, he would buy all the newspapers everyday to read about candidates and politics. I remember politicians going house to house to shake hands with the tenants. It was the time of Marcos, Osmena, the Plaza Miranda bombings, Ninoy Aquino and Jovito Salonga. He had conversations with my uncles while I was at his side, and they would talk about politics every night and would listen to them.

Being educated at UP kept me abreast with politics and that I need to be involved on how this government will be for me and my children, The basic involvement I think that one needs to do to help the government is to pay our taxes and vote in elections.